Genetics and Genomics

USGS geneticists work to provide answers to questions of genetics for use in making sound management decisions on fish and wildlife, including their habitat and conservation. More about USGS Genetics and Genomics

Research for Resource Management

Researchers sample water, soil or air to look for presence of Environmental DNA (eDNA), genetic material shed from living or once live organisms whose presence is difficult to detect under traditional sampling methods.

*Research summaries are contributed by USGS scientists and information specialists from across disciplines. The majority of summaries are currently from the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
See all genetics and genomics research summaries listed in the Site Map.

Science Feature

Using Diets to Reveal Overlap and Egg Predation among Benthivorous Fishes in Lake Michigan

Ecological stability in the Laurentian Great Lakes has been altered by nonindigenous species, such as the round goby Neogobius melanostomus and dreissenid mussels, and by declines in native amphipods Diporeia spp. We evaluated whether these changes could influence diet overlap between three benthivorous fishes (slimy sculpin Cottus cognatus, deepwater sculpin Myoxocephalus thompsonii, and round goby) and whether predation on eggs of native species was occurring.